Business Mint- INDIA’S LEADING & MOST CREDIBLE MARKET RESEARCH COMPANY annually conducts “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards”. The purpose behind the award is to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of a marketeer towards the brand or a campaign aimed at improving patient outcome.

On the award day, we get an opportunity to interact with Mr. Murtuza Morbiwala, the winner of “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards” for “Excellence in Marketing-Cardiology”. Mr. Murtuza is a distinguished marketeer, currently associated with the leading pharmaceutical organization, JB Pharma as a Dy. General Manager – Marketing and bringing in rich experience of 13 years in marketing. He is sculpting his marketing career in cardiology specialty with innovative patient centric initiatives such as “Strengthen the Heart”. After congratulating him, for winning “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards” for “Excellence in Marketing-Cardiology”, we had an opportunity to converse with Mr. Murtuza. I am sharing a glimpse from an insightful and inspiring conversation for the benefit of all readers.

Q.1: Today you have been awarded as the best marketeer in the cardiology specialty, tell us, what inspired you to pursue a career in the profession of pharma marketing at first?
Being in the healthcare sector, a pharma marketeer is able to make an impact on the lives of the patients for their betterment. Nothing could be better than making lives better while being in the pharma profession. 

Q.2: Can you tell us about your journey as a marketeer, your learning curve & what was that inflection point in the journey that transformed you into a successful marketeer?
As a marketeer, I have always been making brands. While being associated with the current brand, I discovered that being a marketeer can increase one’s reach by making initiatives, communication, and direct engagement in terms of marketing initiatives that can impact or transform the lives of the people. While handling different brands, a marketeer can change lives as well as doctors’ perceptions also. This became an inflection point for me in my journey.

Q.3: Being a successful brand manager, according to you, what are the traits of trade that a brand manager should inculcate to excel?
Having in-depth knowledge about the concerned therapy that they are handling is essential for a brand manager. Secondly, having a patient-centric approach is crucial. When you keep patients’ health as the nucleus of your initiatives, various other things revolve around it. A brand manager should also try to have optimum of everything in the strategic initiatives. Proper execution of the strategies is also important. 

Q.4: For the year 2022, you have been awarded as the best marketeer in the cardiology specialty, tell us something about your last year’s marketing initiatives that make you stand tall in this highly competitive industry?
Identifying the needs of the market and addressing the needs of the patients have been our priority for the initiatives. Our initiative also used the doctor’s practice to make patients understand the disease better and adhere to the medicines. Such patient-centric initiatives can differentiate us from other brands and allow us to be recognized among doctors. 

Q.5: How have your marketing initiatives improved the quality of life of the patients?

There are certain do’s and don’ts and some lifestyle modifications that the patient has to undergo due to heart disease. They can be started as early as you understand the disease and adhere to the medications. The initiatives help the patient to holistically understand everything better and their caregivers about the dietary and lifestyle modifications. This will improve patient outcomes and their quality of life. 

Q.6: Every specialty has a typical success lever, according to you what are those levers of success in the cardiology specialty?
As a marketeer in cardiology, I believe that if one understands the disease well helps to benefit the patients in tremendous way. The adoption of the new molecule is very high. So, if a marketeer starts percolating the concept within the cardiology team, it will differentiate you from another brand. Therefore, in cardiology, scientific communication and training are essential to achieve success in this specialty.

Q.7: At last, what would you like to tell, the budding marketers, hoping to carve out their career in pharma brand building?
The entire landscape of pharma marketing is changing. Irrespective of the type of therapy, budding marketers should think patient-centric. While developing the strategies, one should keep two rules in mind, the strategies should be relatable and actionable. This will make the strategies more realistic and executable.